TRAVEL REPORT UNIVERSIDAD DE NAVARRA

Transcription

1 TRAVEL REPORT UNIVERSIDAD DE NAVARRA

2 Preparing for the exchange When I first received the information that I was selected to go to Pamplona, I was baffled. Even though it was clear to me that I wanted to do my exchange I Spain, Pamplona was not my first option and I didn t know practically anything about the city. I wrote Pamplona into google and 98% of the pictures were about San Fermin and more specifically, the running of the bulls. I accepted my choice not knowing exactly what I was signing up for, which turned out to be one of the best choices I had ever made. For my exchange I had three initial goals: 1) Improve my Spanish 2) Make new friends 3) Have a bunch of unforgettable experiences. All the prior were fulfilled. I received the information that I was going to do my exchange studies in Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona in spring 2015 and shortly after I already received my first mail from the university regarding my stay with some basic information and a simple introduction to the university. The documents required for submission were the following: transcript of records, motivation letter, proof of medical insurance, acceptance letter, proof of language proficiency. For medical insurance I had to contact my insurance company due to the fact that they do not sell travel insurances of 6 months without contacting them by phone. In addition to this, I was advised to take my European healthcare card. The university of Navarra had a fairly straight forward online platform were all the documents had to be submitted and were students had to fill in general information about themselves. In addition, the people at the university answered mails with any questions fairly promptly and they also spoke decent English. I wanted to secure myself an apartment before I left, so I started looking for one a couple of months before my exchange. In regards to housing, I used the universities own buscador de pisos and was able to obtain a room in a shared apartment fairly easily. Nevertheless, this service was not connected to the university, so chances are communication has to be done in Spanish as was the case with me. The university also has its own collegio mayor housing, but these have strict curfews and other rules. I don t think any of the exchange students I met lived in these. The best zones to live in are in or close to Iturrama. This is close to the university, the popular clubs and bars as well as all services in general. There is plenty of apartments in Pamplona with rents around e for a room. Another option is to search for a room on the facebook page for exchange students, were there are also plenty on offer. Pamplona has its own airport, but flying from Helsinki there seems double or even triple the price. I got a flight to Madrid and stayed in a hostel there for one night before heading to Pamplona the following morning by train. The train one way was around 30e, and the flight to Madrid was 140e. Another option would have been to take a bus, but this takes 5h

3 instead of 3h on a train. Nevertheless, the bus is slightly cheaper. I decided to arrive a few days before the welcoming days just to have some tie to get to know the city beforehand. The welcoming days started on the 8 of January. We started off by an introduction to the University and to the campus area. This included information about the university courses, practicalities such as sign up and deadlines as well as a presentation of the sports the university has to offer. Later towards the evening, we had a small tour of the old town and finished of having the local speciality pinxtos and beer. The old town is most prominently know for the Fiesta de San Fermin, which is a seven day long party including the legendary running of the bulls. The next morning we set off for San Sebastian, which is an optional trip for 15e and definitely worth going. It is a city on the west coast with a few beautiful beaches. We spent the day there and returned back at around 20. There was a small guided tour, followed by free time. Sunday was a free day and Monday after the first classes, the welcoming days program continued by a short meet up with your assigned tutor, followed by an interactive exhibition of the sports facilities. We were walked around the facilities and got a chance to try very interesting sports such as archery, padel and fencing etc. It is worth socializing and being active in the welcoming days in order to make as many new friends as possible! Courses The semester started on the 11 of January. The university sent an with useful information regarding the courses, which made choosing the courses fairly easy. The university had plenty of courses in English as well as Spanish. Due to my fairly decent level of Spanish, I wanted to select also some courses in Spanish and ended up with a balance between courses in English and Spanish. Moreover, there were certain Spanish courses that said on their webpage that it is possible to do possible presentations and/or exams in English, which can give some people (including me) some extra confidence to study in Spanish. If you wish to pick language courses, apparently levels A1-B2 Spanish are offered free of charge. I did not chose these as I had already completed these levels in Aalto, so I cannot give any further info on them but I understood from other exchange students that they were very useful. The courses lasted from January to May and included two sets of exams. Midterms were arranged from the end of February to early March, and the finals in May. All lectures finished by the end of April, jo basically the semester ended after you took you last exam. The semester also included a long Easter break betweem the , which was perfect for travelling. The courses in general were quite a bit easier than courses in Aalto, although part of the reason was that I was forced to pick bachelor level courses even though I was doing my exchange as part of my master studies. Attendance was mandatory but it nevertheless being away from class here and there was not that much of a problem, although it might affect your grade. In general some courses say they require purchasing a course book, but I passed all courses without buying any. Economia europea y Española

4 This was a course that dealt with the European and Spanish economy as well as the recent history involved. The course was in Spanish and I believe it was a second year course of 6 credits. It was appropriately challenging but at the same time very interesting. It gave me a lot deeper understanding of the EU and Spain both economically but also politically. The professor Maria Jesus was very professional and I liked her style of teaching very much. The course included one presentation as well as two exams. Both could be done in English. This ended up as my favorite course in the university. Analisis economico de industrias This course focused on two parts. The first part was made up of a general recap of macroeconomic theory that required for effective industry analysis, while the second part focused on reviewing around 20 different industries. The first part was not that hard, but a useful recap in my opinion, which consisted of regular lectures in Spanish. The second part consisted solely on presentation of industries. Each person was assigned one and the presentation could be done in English. The industries were covered both from a Spanish as well as a global perspective and gave a good review of the most prominent industries. The course offerec 6 credits. Global Political Economy This was a general course covering a bit of everything regarding global economics and politics. The course was in English and it was full of exchange students. The professor Raz was a nice and easy going guy, but did not always have that much of a grip on what was going on. Nevertheless this was an interesting and easy course that didn t go very deep into anything. The course included a presentation as well as two exams and was worth 6 credits. This is good course if you want something general, easy and laidback. Human Resources This was a general course that served as an introduction to human resources. This course was another one that was very popular amongst exchange students and was taught by a Spanish professor in English. The subject itself was very easy, but the method of teaching was fairly boring. The course consisted of lectures, group presentations and two exams. The presentations were done in groups of 8-9 and lasted 1h 15min. The course was worth 6 credits. Free time and other information In general the cost of living in Spain is much cheaper than in Finland. For example in the supermarket, general groceries will be around 50% cheaper than in Finland. In addition, going out and partying is cheaper. The average beer in Pamplona is around 1-1,5e in the bars, although the price slightly goes up when going to clubs. As mentioned, the average rent for a room in a good area is around e month. I general life in Pamplona is cheaper even when compared to other Spanish bigger cities like Madrid or Barcelona.

5 The free time in Pamplona of an exchange student is more or less based around two central days. Wednesdays is the day for international students to go out (known as crazy Wednesday. It is good to note that predrinks and nights out in Spain start considerably later than in Finland. It is normal that predrinks start around 11PM and people head to the club around 2AM. Due to Crazy Wed, it is a good idea to avoid Thursday morning classes if possible. The other day to pick out is Thursday (known as the day of Juevinxtos). In a nutshell this means that all the bars in Pamplona sell a beer and a Pinxto (Which is the name for Tapas in the north of spain) for the price of 1e each. It is also a good idea to try to avoid Friday morning classes also. I addition to the partying, the university offer a vast range of different sports facilities. The polideportivo has plenty of football, futsal, basketball, archery etc fieds that can be reserved for free online. In addition, the university offer a gym that costs around 130e for half a year. The gym is decent with modern equipment and fairly popular amongst students. Pamplona is surrounded by mountains for those interested in hiking, and offers various areas good for jogging for those interested. Pamplona consists of various different areas. The heart of Pamplona can be said to be the old town or Casco Antiguo. It is a picturesque area full of old buildings, lively alleys and countless bars, restaurants and cafes. The bars offer a delicious variety of Pinxtos, which are tapas like dishes and the speciality Pamplona. This is also were the legendary San Fermin party is held each July with the bull running and endless 7 day party. It is around 20 min walk from the university, and is also accessible by bus. Getting around can be made way easier if you are able to find a second hand bike. There are some sold on the UNAV facebook group. I chose to buy a shortboard for about 60e, which ended up saving me a lot of time getting around. The weather in Pamplona is an interesting case. An old saying goes if you like the weather in Pamplona, wait 5min. If you don t like the weather in Pamplona, wait 5min. In other words, the weather changes plenty and during one day you could easily have all 4 seasons. One thing that is constantly present in Pamplona is rain. Always carry and umbrella and/or a waterproof jacket, they can save you a lot of headaches. During January and Febuary, the weather is around 0 to 15 degrees in general. During the night the temperature might go below zero. Nevertheless, when the sun comes out, the temperature is way nicer. We even had two sets of snow during these months, although it thawed away within a few hours. In March and April the weather starts warming up, but still remains fairly unpredictable. May in general is already warmer with a general 20 degrees regardless of the sun. Another thing to remember is the heating of houses in Spain. In general they are not well prepared for the winter and you might end up being very cold during the night. Especially if you live in an older building, be prepared to sleep in warm clothes. Culturally, Spanish people in general are more laid back although the people in the north are generally better at getting things done than the people of the south. In Pamplona everything worked fairly nicely, just don t expect everything to function as flawlessly and smoothly as in Finland. One specific thing to note is the siesta, when practically everything is shut. This happens daily from In addition, nothing is open on Sundays (literally not

6 even one supermarket), which took me a while to get used to. Also the general level in English in Spain is fairly poor, so don t expect to be able to communicate in English even with university staff, or for example with people in the post office. Basic phrases are useful to know in Spanish, although even without a mutual language most often you can get yourself understood. As Pamplona is a small city, lots of exchange students choose to travel. When traveling from Pamplona, there are generally speaking two options, by bus or by train. The bus is slightly cheaper but takes slightly longer than the train. Nearby cities include Zaragoza, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Biarriz (France) that are all definitely worth traveling to. Another cheap way of getting around is getting the bus to Madrid or Barcelona and getting a cheap Ryanair flight. I for example flew to Mallorca during the Easter break from Barcelona for 45euros for a return flight. If you want to make sure you get good beach weather, going to the south of Spain is definitely worth it. Pamplona in general was an unforgettable and amazing experience. I met a great amount of incredible people and made a lot of amazing new friends. In addition, I had never been to the North of Spain, so I learnt a lot about the interesting differences between the north and south. I will definitely come home more open minded, more cultured and more open to new experiences. Not only did this exchange teach me about Spain, but also about the countless other cultures I met and had the privilege to spend time with. I went back home as a changed person, more open to new experiences and challenges. I would definitely recommend the university for people who want to complete their studies in English, or partially in Spanish, and for people who enjoy the ambience of a smaller city compared to Madrid or Barcelona.